U.S. military personnel are learning from the Ukrainian Armed Forces how to identify drones by their sound
The U.S. military has begun actively studying Ukraine’s experience in countering drones. In particular, soldiers are being trained to identify drones by the distinctive sound of their engines so they can respond more quickly to threats during combat missions.
This is reported by Breaking Defense.
As U.S. officers note, the war in Ukraine has shown that modern soldiers must not only look ahead but also constantly listen to the sky.
Staff Sergeant Tyler Harrington, who led counter-UAV tactics during the Project FlyTrap 5.0 exercises in Lithuania, explained that patrols now scan the area not only at ground level but also in the air.
“I no longer just scan my 12 o’clock and around me at ground level—we’ve incorporated this combat activity where we also need to scan upward and outward… now you need to learn the sounds of drones. Doesn’t that sound like one of the ones flying in our potential direction?” Harrington said.
Although the U.S. Army has not yet officially changed its training programs, field experience is already being actively implemented. Soldiers are learning to distinguish between types of drones by the sound of their engines to determine their direction of movement and threat level.
Analysts at the CBA Initiatives Center, who studied the training of new recruits in six European countries, concluded that modern soldiers need to develop new reflexes to survive on the battlefield.
“Ukrainian recruits need to develop muscle memory for the sound of approaching drones, and if someone shouts ‘air!’ everyone must immediately drop to the ground, point their rifles at the sky, and aim at the drone,” the report notes.
In addition to training personnel, Ukraine is actively developing acoustic drone detection systems. These consist of networks of microphones and computers that operate synchronously and are capable of quickly determining the direction of movement of aerial targets.
The structure of such systems includes directional microphones, local computers for signal analysis, synchronized timestamps, and automatic target alerts.
The information obtained is instantly transmitted to air defense units, allowing drones to be swiftly destroyed while still approaching.
American experts believe that such technologies must be implemented as soon as possible, especially on NATO’s eastern flank, since inexpensive acoustic systems sometimes prove more effective than expensive radars.
